M5.3 earthquake near Palata, Molise

What happened

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 2 km SE of Palata, Italy on 16 Aug 2018, 18:19 UTC at a depth of 12 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Palata, about 2 km away in Molise, Italy.